₦airaland Forum

Nigerian fought war with cameroun over this in late 90s before dragged to international court .court ruled in favour of cameroun

mariovito:
These are the kind of stuff nations go to war for

I am now thinking how tinubu effect is making me to wonder if the house project i undertaking is above my capacity.

FarahAideed:
One day you people will agree that Tinubu is the worst thng that has happened to the black race . Under Jonathan that 21 thousand will get you 9 chicken for new year

It is the ripple effect of the impunity APC brought that cause this total disregard of the judiciary. Mind you Soludo is in alignment with APC

AgainstIslam:
OK. It's not Lagos, so no public outcry.

On which bases please? Kindly enlighten us

Throwback:
Neither Atiku nor Peter Obi can defeat President Bola Tinubu.

Their best chance to defeat him was in 2023. That ship has since sailed.

This advice is most needed by tinibu

helinues:
They should show us what they have done with the last loans.

State governors should stop mortgaging their state

We need to investigate ownership relationship with Oando and NNPC to understand the motive behind this debt forgiveness

Urbanisation: Lagos relentless demolitions render thousands homeless, widen housing deficit (1)
December 29, 2025 12:35 am
Urban dolition
• Displaced schoolchildren move through rubbles in Oworonshoki, Lagos. Photos: Gbenga

From Oworonshoki to Ikota, Trade Fair Complex to Oral Extension Estate, GBENGA OLONINIRAN assesses the human costs of Lagos State’s urban expansion drive

Homeless and helpless, families wandered around the Oworonshoki area of Lagos, where the rubble of bricks tells the story of relentless demolition exercises that have hit homes.

Stranded residents were visibly angry. Every stranger seemed like a threat as movements were closely monitored in the now-quiet community that echoes the loud anguish of displacement.

Those who still had roofs over their heads quickly peeped from their windows, while others rushed to their entrances as they kept close watch on our correspondent, who arrived in the area on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in November.



We Also Deserve To Be Allocated New Govt Houses -Lagos Slum Dwellers

The sound of any vehicle—however faint—rang in the ears of the dwellers as if another caterpillar had arrived to pull down more houses in the community, located in the Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos.

The hostility could not only be sensed; it could be felt. The sight of a camera was the last thing families—who ate outside under the sun and slept in the cold at night—wanted to see.

Not only had homes been pulled down, schools and churches were also levelled; and interviewing the victims of the demolition in the Ojileru and Coker areas of the community was not a walk in the park for our correspondent.


“Who are you?!” was the first question by a woman sitting on some household furniture barely balanced among the rubble of bricks on Toluwalase Street.

She was later identified as Kafayat Omoboriowo.

“If you were here on Monday, you would know that there is a problem,” she said in Yoruba, after being persuaded by locals familiar with the community who led our correspondent around.

With all her belongings scattered outside, she could not hide her emotions. “We are angry. Those who brought cameras were sent away from here! What do we want to hear? They have pushed us outside. This is where we sleep—see our clothes out there!” Omoboriowo said at the top of her voice.

At night, the displaced residents lay clothes and mats on the ground. Others made nets where mothers and children sleep to prevent mosquito bites, but they could not be spared from the biting cold and rain that may fall at night, after surviving the scorching sun in the afternoon.

A woman, who gave her name as Iya Ibeji for fear of victimisation, lamented the brute force applied by government agents who carried out the demolition.

“My daughter was affected by the teargas during the demolition. She was coughing and gasping for breath. I have been treating her for the past three days, and she can’t even see clearly now,” she lamented.


With community schools demolished, many children, between the ages of four and 12, were seen running around and playing in the midst of the rubble of bricks and iron rods.

“Enina School was demolished; Winning Life School was also demolished. They pulled down many schools; they didn’t spare any,” said Fatai Ganiyu, Youth Chairman of Toluwalase Street.

“About five nursery and primary schools were demolished, and a secondary school too. There is only one public school in Oworonshoki, and it is very far,” said Iya Ibeji.

Over 100 houses had been pulled down in the community by the Lagos State Building Control Agency in October as part of a series of operations that began in the area in September 2025, described by the state government as an urban regeneration drive.

The exercise was not limited to Oworonshoki. Homeowners in highbrow Ikota Villa Estate and Oral Extension, both in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area, have similar tales of woe to tell.

Around Delight Court and Signature Estate inside Ikota Villa Estate, residents said about eight buildings were demolished to expand a canal.

“Eight houses were broken to pave the way for the canal,” said Afeez Saliu, a worker at the site.


Some of the houses had their sitting rooms almost exposed after a significant part of their buildings was chopped off.

In Oral Extension Estate, about 200 metres from Ikota Villa Estate, up to 17 houses were demolished in October in an operation carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.

The buildings shared boundaries with the Ikota River, a major trigger for the government’s action.

Upon entering the estate, it was observed that dozens of buildings were also marked for contravention.

“I don’t know when they are coming to demolish this one,” said Banji Coker, the son of a landlord. “My dad and everyone are worried,” he told our correspondent.

At the International Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, the government also levelled buildings, mostly new structures, ranging from warehouses to shopping complexes.

The chairman of Trade Fair City Park, Pascal Okechukwu, lamented losing his warehouse to the demolition, worrying that “It will cost us about N30m to get this place back to how it used to be.”


Okechukwu said he had been at the complex since 1992, at a time he said “there was no development.”

“They even begged us to come here. We put our investments here only to be met with what Lagos State called physical planning or no physical planning. It was the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing that gave us approval. Whatever they want us to do, let them come out firmly so we can do that rather than spoiling one’s investments after building.”

Lagos demolition wave

Founded in 1967, Lagos State, with a land mass of 2,798 Sq. Km and a population of over 20 million, sets its gaze on becoming a smart megacity.

But in the way of that dream stand irregular structures and slums, which the government, in the last few years, has intensified efforts at pulling down.

The massive demolitions in Oworonshoki were on the back of this smart city dream. Many of the houses levelled had existed for several decades.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State, Gbolahan Oki, said the demolished buildings were illegal as they had no government approval.

According to him, the government gave the homeowners an amnesty period to obtain building permits but many failed to seize the opportunity.

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“Only two or three persons in that community took advantage of the amnesty; others ignored all warnings,” Oki said.

A coastal city, Lagos often grapples with flooding during the rainy seasons. The Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, who has led several drainage cleanups in the past to prevent flooding, cited drainage obstruction for the demolition in Eti-Osa.

“We stopped them then, but we were alerted again recently that the encroachment had resumed aggressively, with attempts to sell land to unsuspecting buyers,” Wahab said.

The government’s efforts to prevent flooding have seen it demolishing buildings in different parts of the city. Part of this was the demolition of several duplexes and other buildings along the Ikota River in September this year. The action was carried out by the Drainage Enforcement and Compliance Department of the Ministry of the Environment.

Media reports show that demolitions have also been carried out in areas such as Ogudu, Mende, Maryland, Yaba and several others in 2024 and since January 2025, with the latest happening at Mile 12 in December.

Demolitions widen city’s housing deficit


While Lagos aims to build an organised city, the relentless yearly demolitions continue to widen the state’s housing deficit figures.

Though there are no formal statistics on the number of demolished buildings, media reports show that the government has demolished well over 200 houses in the last two years, owing to the lack of government approval.

It is a paradox for a city where over 90 per cent of residents are tenants and house rents keep skyrocketing, forcing some to seek refuge under bridges.




• A homeless woman and her tear-gassed daughter at the Oworonshoki demolition site
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said his government had delivered over 10,000 homes since his administration began in 2019. However, a report by The State of Lagos Housing Market, Volume 3, stated that as of 2025, Lagos faces a housing deficit of 3.396 million units. This includes 618,356 inadequate homes that are either structurally unsafe, severely overcrowded, or lacking essential services such as clean water, proper sanitation, and electricity.

The report noted that although housing supply improved significantly from 1.4 million units in 2016 to over 2.57 million units in 2025, it has not kept pace with demand.

It stated, “The housing deficit has thus grown from approximately 2.95 million units in 2016 to 3.4 million in 2025, a 15 per cent increase.”


The Executive Secretary of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria, Toye Eniola, said it was likely that each of the houses demolished accommodated no fewer than a family of five.

He said, “When you look at the statistics of the families affected, it means they have been rendered homeless, adding to the high number of those already struggling to live.

“So, it is going to compound housing problems in Lagos State. A man who does not have a roof over his head can hardly concentrate on any job he is doing, and that will also affect productivity.

“Some of them will end up staying under bridges, and for the megacity you’re thinking of having, the government will have to spend more money to fight crime and remove people from under bridges.”

Why unapproved buildings fester

The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority and its sister agency, Lagos State Building Control Agency, regulate the state’s built sector. While LASPPPA issues building permits, LASBCA issues authorisation to commence construction and ensures compliance.

According to Lagos law, anyone intending to build in Lagos must first obtain a Building Permit and the Authorisation to Commence Construction Letter. Obtaining these approvals requires several steps. Until 2025, when the government officially launched the Electronic Physical Planning Process System, the process was manual, cumbersome and time-consuming. Users also complained of corruption in the system, where state officials may not do their job, except offered a bribe.


The state government said the Electronic Physical Planning Process System was unveiled to facilitate building permit approvals in as little as 10 minutes for minor applications and within a few working days after the initial screening process for others.

According to the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, Olumide Sotire, “more than 50 per cent of houses in Lagos do not have approvals,” signifying that several buildings actually lack approvals.

For the Executive Secretary of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria, Eniola, a situation where state regulatory agencies appear to focus more on “punishment”, in terms of demolition, than encouraging compliance, is worrisome.

“The question we should ask ourselves is what the government was doing when those people were building the houses. Why are we spending taxpayers’ money on people who fail to carry out their responsibilities? Some people have failed to check all these illegalities; they are not doing their work, and now they are waiting to demolish. So the government bears a lot of fault because it means it is not living up to its responsibilities,” Eniola said.

The PUNCH investigations show that LASPPPA has district offices around the city to be able to see and stop illegal structures. For instance, there is a LASPPPA’s district office beside Oral Extension estate where the government recently carried out demolitions.

When asked if relevant officials from the ministry did not observe when developers were building in the area, the Permanent Secretary, LASPPPA, Sotire, responded in a parable. “That the owner of a house does not catch a thief until the thief enters the house does not make the entry of the thief legitimate,” he said. According to him, in many cases, “the buildings were there before LASPPPA got there.”

Sotire said many people are also uninformed and act out of ignorance. “I have seen many people, even family members, saying they have approvals, and when you ask for the approvals, some of them bring a survey document. Is that an approval? So let them bring out their approvals, and if need be, they go to court for compensation,” he said.


Answering questions on the Trade Fair demolition, Sotire said the buildings did not comply with regulations.

“The warehouses, for instance, do they have a park for trailers? The trailers should be able to go there and park conveniently. The road must be free. You don’t just park in the middle of the street. To make matters worse, they also started building a residential estate inside the Trade Fair Complex. So we broke some walls just to show our presence and give some warnings,” he said.

Big demolitions, paltry compensations

The demolition in Oworonshoki triggered a massive protest in September, with angry residents blocking the Third Mainland Bridge.

While the state government said it had already carried out two rounds of compensation for over 100 property owners with valid documents in Oworonshoki, some building owners said the money being given—ranging from N300,000 to N3m or more in some cases—could not cater for their losses. Others claimed they did not get any compensation at all.

The youth leader in one of the Oworonshoki communities, Ganiyu, said his family received nothing.

“We were not given any money. The people given money were arranged, and their videos were circulated to justify more demolition
“Will N300,000 rebuild a house? It doesn’t even buy land. It cannot even rent a decent apartment in Lagos. A three-storey building was among those demolished—will N300,000 rebuild that?” Ganiyu queried. “If the government were sincere, they would have met with us and signed a Memorandum of Understanding.”


https://punchng.com/urbanisation-lagos-relentless-demolitions-render-thousands-homeless-widen-housing-deficit-1/

We are talking about Igbos not igala.

Readinglamp:
We don dey military regime in the pastand we nor still be the Igbo. That talk nor strong.

Ibuzo nor be ukwuani
Okpanam nor be ukwuani

Like I said, the ukwuani man nor be Igbo. Make una draw una Ebonyi siblings close. We nor want.

Which allegations or are you listen to political propaganda? meanwhile, Obi has address that severally. He said he was running a personal company in London before coming back to Nigeria. When he wanted to join politics he liquited the company and invested the money with pandora

Iamajike:
There was an allegations, so what are you saying?

Did you really understand what pandora is about?pandora is assets management company for the fact that some corrupt people hide their assets with them does means that everybody investing with them is corrupt

Iamajike:
Pandora paper.

Tinubu was never found guilty of any charge of corporation, does that mean he's a saint?

Lagos State Issues Motorist ₦5.7 Million Bill for Single Streetlight Damage
The total rectification cost of ₦5,726,320.00 includes two All-in-one Solar Fittings (₦4.4m), a Galvanised Pole (₦794k), and equipment rentals for a Hiab and Manlift”.

But till date onbody have been able to indict Obi despite being in opposotion

Iamajike:
Hmmm. The problem is you'll think Governor Seyi Makinde is a saint and better than the rest. The same way they package Obi in last election.

I will never take any politicians seriously but I will support anyone my heart pick with everything.

I dont believe in lesser devil, they are all the same.

We prefer him and will vote for him, even a goat will do better than tinubu

LagosG:
So he's literally giving credence to what we've been saying since. He was clueless on how to govern whilst being a governor. Isn't that just mental? I want to see how his minions spin this one.

You will never find an Indian, Chinese politician making this same statement. It .makes absolutely no sense. This is like saying "let me go and learn how to be a father from my neighbours after claiming to be the best father alive." Or "let me go and learn how to sexually satisfy my wife after claiming to make her cum 20 times in 1 minute after telling the world to go and verify my wife's vagina"

Did you sew the new about offering each governor 50B and senator 25B to join APC

Ashirioluwa:
Nigeria is gradually becoming a one-party state. Really, I don't know what Tinubu is using to lure all these politicians to APC.

These data boys are now doing overtime, see them above defending criminality in thisl ate hour. Nigerians disregard the comment of those defending government criminality above, they are APC data boys use in deceoving good Nigerians

Making sure that Tpain does not return to Asorock second time. Afliction shall not raise again

All these data boys above trying to justify their failure of their paymaster

I am on band B as well, did you have light on christmas day?

jamafa:
Shey nah everywhere for Nigeria dem no get light??

I swear we get light very well for here.

Even now light dey.

Nah Band B we dey o

I suspect that the current minister of power could be a fanatic muslem who delibrately off the light to spoil chrismas celebration. He should resign or face being sack

It is not about revenuebut what you do with it. By the way, hope you know that this increase in revenue is the reasin things are expensive in the market

HgAkpobomeEr:
Good to see that customs revenue is on the rise.

"Civilized mentality" I disagreed with this. The attitude of yorubas is contradicting this asertion.the reason people go to Abuja is the same reason people come to Lagos

dederocs:
Gibberish, people love Lagos due to the Cosmopolitan nature, civilized mentality.

You can still get cheaper rate there , I leave in Igbo eleneri area and my rent have just been increased to 800k for two bedroom flats with water heater, foregn wood wallrope and kitechen cabinet.

Killermamba:
if you say agbara I will understand, but you see that okoko it's a no go area for rent, a room self contain goes for as much as 800-1.2m a room and parlor is from 1.3-1.8m 2bedroom is from 1.8m to 2.5m+

Lagos state govenment is actually one of the reasons house rent is expensive, how can govenment be charge people as high 4m for building permit approval and Omonile will also charged you atleast 500k for every staged of the building. Landlord is not father christmas he or she has to recover his money too

muyico:
I thought 💭🤔 Lagos State government amends landlord tenants laws?

Southwest is the one overburdern themselves with selfishness and greediness .
E.g all the fedaral head quarters Tinibu moved from Abuja to Lagos are they not coming with their staff?
The people from other regions that has businesses to do with the head quarters, should they stop their businesses because one nepotic president moved it ro his region?

The seaport that centralized in Lagos should people stop their business because it located in Lagos?
Should people from other regions stopped travelling abroad because the port that is designated as enry and exist air port is located in Lagos?
Infact on the reverse Lagos should start paying other states tax because the have denied oher state revenues

ryloy:
Solution: Other states need to step up and focus on meaningful development. The South East, for example, is largely underutilized—residents should stay home and invest in their communities by creating opportunities rather than constructing unnecessary mansions.

States should also consider contributing a portion of their allocations to Lagos and other states that are more immigration-friendly.

It’s time to stop overburdening the infrastructure in the South West. 🛑

He has been doing it systematically and he has started renovating the old FCT house in Lagos

Stiv19cuff:
Practically impossible, Tinubu knows himself that it will be resisted fiercely.

During Tinubu swear in ceremony i was doing german floor to my building the same day,
One of the Baale's boys came to the site after entertaining him he started gisting me.
In the process he said Thank God Tinubu has been swore in and I asked what would be the benefit to him? He said that one of the benefits is that he is going to bring back federal capital to Lagos. I looked at him like someone who does"t know what he was doing but now i am begining to believe him

Stiv19cuff:
Thu, 25 Dec 2025 6:20:17 WAT
By Mohammed Bello Doka




Nigeria is a federation in name, but under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it is beginning to look like a country governed from one city, for one city, and in the image of one city. What is unfolding before our eyes is not announced, not debated, and not legislated—but it is real. By policy choices, budget priorities, and institutional drift, Lagos is being rebuilt as Nigeria’s de facto administrative–economic capital, while vast swathes of the country are left to decay.

FAAN, CBN (key departments), BOI, NPA and NIMASA.

These are not minor agencies. They are the command centres of aviation, finance, industry, ports, and maritime regulation. When such institutions either move their headquarters to Lagos or concentrate their real power there, the question practically asks itself: if power, money, and decision-making all live in Lagos, what exactly is Abuja for—and what is left for the rest of Nigeria?


Let us begin with the facts.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has formally relocated its headquarters from Abuja to Lagos. The justification offered was “operational efficiency” because Lagos handles the bulk of air traffic. Yet Abuja remains the constitutional seat of government. No constitutional amendment was sought. No national debate was held. A major federal institution simply packed up and moved.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, officially headquartered in Abuja, has quietly transferred some of its most powerful departments—Banking Supervision, Payments System Management, Consumer Protection, Financial Policy and Regulation—to Lagos. Anyone who understands how banking regulation works knows the truth: where supervision sits, power sits. Abuja may keep the signage, but Lagos now holds the nerve centre.


The Bank of Industry has received Federal Executive Council approval for a new headquarters in Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, effectively relocating its functional command base from Abuja. A development finance institution, meant to catalyse industrial growth across Nigeria, is now planting its flag in one of the most exclusive real-estate enclaves in Africa.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and NIMASA, though nominally federal, have long operated as Lagos-centric agencies. Under Tinubu, this imbalance has not been corrected—it has been reinforced.

Piece by piece, institution by institution, Lagos is being reassembled as Nigeria’s true capital—without Nigerians ever being asked.

If the institutional drift raises suspicion, the budgetary figures remove all doubt.

Consider the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, a flagship federal project championed by the Tinubu administration. The road, stretching roughly 700 kilometres, has been reported in multiple credible sources as costing between N14 trillion and N15 trillion when completed. Even the first tranche alone approved by the Federal Executive Council—N1.334 trillion for about 130 kilometres—is staggering.


Now place that figure beside the reality of northern Nigeria.

According to compiled 2025 approved state budgets:

Yobe State: N320.8 billion

Gombe State: under N500 billion

Taraba State: under N500 billion

Nasarawa State: under N500 billion

Adamawa State: under N500 billion

Seven of the ten states with the smallest budgets in Nigeria are in the North. The combined budgets of the ten lowest-spending states nationwide amount to about N4.2 trillion.

Let that sink in.

A single federal road corridor, anchored in Lagos and running along the coast, is projected to cost over three times the combined annual budgets of ten Nigerian states, most of them northern. Even the N1.334 trillion first phase alone is larger than the entire annual budget of multiple northern states.

This is not development. This is concentration.

While trillions flow southward into concrete, glass, and coastal highways, the North is bleeding.


Insurgency and banditry continue to cripple the North-East and North-West.

According to displacement tracking data, millions of Nigerians remain internally displaced, with the highest concentration in northern states.

Poverty indices consistently show the highest multidimensional poverty rates in the North.

Literacy figures reveal a scandalous educational divide, with some northern states recording single-digit literacy rates, while parts of the South approach near-universal literacy.


These are not abstract statistics. They translate into: children out of school, communities cut off by insecurity, markets unable to function, states trapped in survival mode.

And yet, when the Tinubu administration reaches for its biggest chequebook, it reaches—not northward—but towards Lagos.

Let this be clear: Lagos is not the enemy. Lagos is industrious, vibrant, and economically vital. But no federation survives when one city becomes the gravitational centre of everything—capital, institutions, infrastructure, and influence—while others are treated as afterthoughts.


Abuja was created to prevent exactly this outcome. It was meant to neutralise regional dominance, balance power, and symbolise national ownership. What Tinubu’s Lagos-centric governance does is quietly undo the philosophy of the Nigerian federation, not by law, but by practice.

A federation does not collapse only through coups or constitutions. Sometimes it collapses through budget lines, headquarters relocations, and silent administrative decisions.

To the North, the message is clear: endure insecurity and poverty while watching national wealth pass you by.

To the South East, already starved of federal presence, the message is familiar: you are not a priority.

To the South South, the resource zone of the federation, the message is bitterly ironic: your oil may fund the centre, but the centre lives elsewhere.

And to Lagos, the message is unmistakable: you are the centre of the republic.

President Tinubu owes Nigerians an answer—not rhetoric, not slogans, but an answer grounded in policy logic:

Is Nigeria still a federation, or is it being reorganised around Lagos by stealth?


Because when: federal agencies move,
regulatory power relocates, development banks follow and trillions in infrastructure spending cluster in one axis, then what is happening is not accidental.

And that choice, left unchecked, risks turning Nigeria into a country where citizenship depends on geography, and national unity becomes a slogan rather than a lived reality.

History has shown—again and again—that nations do not fracture only from rebellion. Sometimes, they fracture from neglect dressed up as efficiency.

Nigeria should be careful.



Bello Doka can be reached via bellodoka82@gmail.com

Abuja Network News

https://dailytrust.com/is-tinubu-relocating-nigerias-capital-to-lagos-piece-by-piece/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHn9RZ2WTOpYwOM9Ea8F8rPK1CvTsSpgsH4QIB-v4SF4xqwHwZBnkJPDPQQuy_aem_d_F4WWBJbgajoEbgDHMuGg&noamp=available

I thought it was only my area at Ojo that was affected. The same thing they did on last year chrismas.

How can a secular state like Nigeria be appointing religious fanatics into sensitive position.

It is still surprizing me that this man has not been taking in for questioning despite having link with terroirist

I curious to know what kind of strike did US use air or sea

Why won't you save more money when you guys are in power and the key to the treasury of the nation are in you guys hand?

helinues:
Nobody will tell you the amount they have saved as you refused to lead the way

I saved more than money this year. I saved my sanity by not allowing the manipulators to continue manipulating me as it was costly. They only remember you when they are broke .

My thinking that it might be delibrate to prove a point

Igirigimercenar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjx2tBgqyUE (credits: EdonhappenTV)
Suicide bomber detonates explosives at Gambarou Jumu’at mosque in Maiduguri


https://www.reuters.com/world/blast-hits-mosque-during-evening-prayers-nigerias-maiduguri-witness-2025-12-24/



Source
Updated: Five dead, 35 injured in suicide IED attack on Gamborun mosque